The Camden Comedy Crawl/Liverpool Comedy Festival

Two very different festivals get underway this week, with very different agendas. Liverpool's Comedy Festival (to 8 May) is a classic example of the modern city shindig. Spread out over 11 days, it's garnished with big crowd-pullers (including Dylan Moran, Russell Kane, Greg Davies and Tim Minchin) but also offers the chance to check out some less heralded talents – including gothic sketch comic Colin Hoult and offbeat cerebral stand-up John-Luke Roberts. These last two will also be plying their trade on Camden's Comedy Crawl – a less lavish, more frenzied affair that seeks to pack an entire festival programme of over 100 comics into two nights of entertainment (Sat, Sun). Grab a wristband, and there's a good chance to see something fresh and interesting – like Tom Rosenthal, hotly tipped on the back of his turn in Channel 4's Friday Night Dinner.

Adam Riches: Manthology, London

Adam Riches.

The possibilities of Yakult as a fount of comedic inspiration have been hitherto largely unexplored. But character comic Adam Riches is more than equal to the task of redressing the balance, courtesy of his alter ego Victor Legit. Victor's an everyday, common-or-garden macho hardman with two rather unusual quirks – he's obsessed with his job of enforcing the laws against DVD piracy, and he has an equally compulsive relationship with a certain probiotic milk drink. This kind of thing is typical of the Riches comedy method – he takes male personality types with which we're all familiar, and adds a streak of full-bodied surreal madness to the mix. Following a series of successful Edinburgh Fringe shows, this London run sees him cherry-picking the best bits for his Manthology. On one level, it's a thorough examination of the nature of masculinity in the 21st century. More importantly, it all adds up to a hugely entertaining collection of rude gags and inspired comedy characters.

Leicester Square Theatre, WC2, Wed to 15 May

Sod Cancer! London

David Mitchell and Robert Webb. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/Rex

Now that David Mitchell is the default booking for most TV panel shows, you might think double-act partner Robert Webb has become overshadowed. However, seasoned comedy watchers will probably look to the example of Fry & Laurie – whose bone-dry cerebral whimsy is clearly a big influence – as proving that the careers of comedy duos can end up like the story of the tortoise and the hare. In 20 years time, Webb could be appearing on US network television with an unnaturally grafted American accent, while Mitchell could be flogging teabags, obsessing about technology and, well, appearing on panel shows. In the meantime, they're making a rare live appearance at this charity gig, organised by friends of deceased TV pro Jerome O'Donohoe to raise money for the Institute of Cancer Research.